A MAGISTRATE has criticised the handling of a man charged with killing his mother, telling the court the accused is languishing in custody because of the continuing delays.
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Bradley Craig Mottram is accused of the stabbing murder of his 51-year-old mother, Simone Mottram, at her Froude St house in Inverell.
The now 21-year-old has been in custody since the day of the alleged murder in Inverell on October 19, 2015, and appeared in Armidale Local Court via video link from Parklea prison.
Magistrate Michael Holmes said “the matter has been in the list for a very, very long time,” before the court was told the case was still not ready.
“I’ve warned you, I’ve warned everytime,” Mr Holmes told Legal Aid solicitor Wendy McAuliffe and DPP solicitor, Stephen Ryan.
“He has been sitting in jail for a long period of time.”
Legal Aid took over the case after Mottram’s previous solicitor passed away.
He has been sitting in jail for a long period of time.
- Magistrate Michael Holmes
Mr Ryan said “the reason for the delay at this point” was that “an offer has been made”.
“Reports have been served by the defence,” he told the court. He said the Crown “sought to have the accused assessed” but when the professor attempted to interview him in custody, they “were turned away by Parklea Correctional Centre”.
Ms McAuliffe said “it's not an uncommon occurrence, in my experience” with Parklea.
Mr Holmes said it wasn’t good enough, and ordered an official complaint to be made, because it was affecting the administration of justice and “was unfair to your client”.
"I want to ensure there is a complaint made through the DPP,” he told the court.
Mr Ryan said the professor had since seen Mottram but a report was some weeks away.
I want to ensure there is a complaint made through the DPP.
- Magistrate Michael Holmes
“The family will need to be conferenced because of the nature of the charge,” he told the court, asking for a two-month adjournment.
Mr Holmes said “the matter is blowing out” and he had already “given a fair bit of leeway in the matter because of the passing of Mr [Roger] Munday”.
“It’s out the window,” he said in relation to the judicial guidelines for the case to be committed for sentence or trial to the NSW Supreme Court.
He warned both parties the case would be committed in October when it returns to court. Mottram made no application for bail.
Breanna Chillingworth
Northern Daily Leader Senior Crime and Court Reporter
Northern Daily Leader Senior Crime and Court Reporter
